Identifying myself as an African woman is not about kingdoms or pyramids, Kings or Queens of any such notion that require that someone must be ruled over or someone must rule over them. My idea of womanhood works better without the tyranny of hierarchies and fragile egos looking for cramped, vulnerable spaces to feel big at the expense of others who willingly shrink-wrap themselves to fit inside other peoples egos. For me, being an African woman means standing in the rivers of ancestral memory and shared social history navigating its undulating currents hand in hand with African men- a river dance that extends millenia; it is to index a particular constellation of struggles, tragedies and triumphs women have endured alongside African men in defense of our future, and which gives meaning and contours to African beingness; it is to identify a set of cultural footprints that other African men and women have walked together before leaving trails and paths to consider and pursue; it is to say that I am connected to multiple histories and cultures which provide me with a general design for living and patterns for interpreting a shared reality with African men. Being an African woman, for me, isnt simply about striving to be allies with African men-- allies is too weak a stance, for it implies men are supporting us in our battles rather than men fighting alongside us in a shared struggle in which we work on ourselves to clear space for others to blossom. We are the silent pauses in each others heartbeats. The heartbeat was our first music; our saying yes to each other was our first song. We are each others rhythm and rhyme. Trials and tribulations- provide the soundtrack of our liberation. For me, African womanhood in its most beautiful expression simply says: I am because African men are, and because African men are, therefore I am.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 16:04:12 +0000
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